A retrospective look at Queen's 1976 album "A Day at the Races" reveals that Freddie Mercury believed Brian May had crafted a guitar sound on one track so accomplished that May himself would struggle to surpass it. The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios in South Wales during a period of upheaval for the band, who had just parted ways with their management and were choosing between Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant and Elton John's manager, John Reid, before opting for Reid's advice to focus on studio work rather than touring.

The sessions also produced "Bohemian Rhapsody", but Mercury singled out "The Millionaire Waltz" — written about John Reid — as the moment May's layered guitar orchestration reached new heights. Mercury was quoted praising May's "guitar orchestration" as being taken "to its limits", saying he didn't know how May would ever outdo it. May himself later described the album as the band's "greatest musical excess", crediting the creative freedom of the Rockfield sessions for pushing the group to some of their most ambitious work.